The FBI announced yesterday that it is dedicating additional personnel to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples (MMIP) crisis. The staffing surge supports Operations Not Forgotten, an initiative focused on solving violent crimes in Indian Country, particularly those against women and children.
Native communities face a disproportionate amount of violence, with a high number of cases going unsolved, which experts say is a result of inadequate public safety resources, jurisdictional confusion and federal apathy.
According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, there are 4,200 unsolved MMIP cases, but advocates say that the actual number is likely much higher. In 2023, homicide was the fourth leading cause of death among Native men, and the sixth leading cause of death among Native women.
Surged personnel, including investigative, intelligence and victim service support, will be deployed on rotating temporary duty assignments across Indian Country in 11 FBI field offices, in Albuquerque; Billings, Montana; Detroit; Denver; Jackson, Mississippi; Las Vegas; Minneapolis; Oklahoma City; Omaha; Portland, Oregon; and Phoenix.
The FBI says it will work in coordination with Tribal law enforcement agencies, the BIA Missing and Murdered Unit, and U.S. attorneys’ offices.
At the start of this fiscal year, the FBI’s Indian Country program carried approximately 4,100 open investigations including death investigations, child abuse cases, and domestic violence and adult sexual abuse investigations.
